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Murder investigation after toddler drowns in swimming pool in England

The child was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital but later died

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a three-year-old girl drowned in a hotel swimming pool.

The child, who was believed to have been staying at the seaside hotel with her parents, got into difficulty in the water at the Dalmeny Hotel, in St Annes, near Blackpool, at around 11am yesterday.

The girl, from Galashiels in Scotland, was initially pulled from the water and taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

She was then transferred to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in a critical condition where she died at around 8pm yesterday.

A 40-year-old woman, from Galashiels, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and child neglect and remains in police custody.

Detective Inspector Nick Connaughton from Blackpool CID said: "This is a tragic situation where a young girl has lost her fight for life following an incident at a swimming pool in a hotel in St Annes.

"We are now treating this sad death as suspicious and are investigating just how the child has come into difficulties in the pool."